Otherwise, these people wouldn't have betrayed the regime so quickly when they saw things were going wrong. Since they had already gone from being subjects of the Wang clan of Goryeo to subjects of the Yi clan of Goryeo, they wouldn't care about becoming subjects of the Ju clan of Goryeo.

Perhaps the ministers of the Zhu family in Goryeo were better, with orthodox Confucian culture and the powerful backing of the Ming Dynasty, which defeated the tyrannical Yuan Dynasty.

The father and son, Lee Seong-gye and Lee Bang-won, seem to be constantly stabbing each other in the back, and they also seem to be constantly shifting the blame onto each other, but that is ultimately just an illusion.

Lee Bang-won killed his half-brother and imprisoned his elder brother, all for the sake of the throne. He did not want to lose his power, and he could not accept becoming a prisoner of the Ming army, to be humiliated and sent to the Ming court as a captive.

Although Yi Seong-gye was already disillusioned by Yi Bang-won's actions, he was still his son. Most importantly, Yi Bang-won's willingness to bear infamy to usurp the throne was clearly for the sake of the kingdom. No matter how disheartening Yi Bang-won was, he was still his son, and the Goryeo kingdom should rightfully be controlled by the Yi family.

After glancing at his son, Yi Seong-gye asked, "How many troops do we have left?"

Lee Bang-won glanced warily at Lee Seong-gye, and said somewhat perfunctorily with a sullen expression, "Less than 100,000, but there are tens of thousands of soldiers in Jeolla Province and Gyeongsang Province."

Yi Seong-gye let out a long sigh. Of the eight provinces he had initially established, only Sangha Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces remained. In reality, even these two provinces were not entirely complete or secure, as the Ming Dynasty's three guards in Busan always had the opportunity to launch an attack.

If these troops defending the Busan Three Guards were diverted, the Yi family would likely have launched a pincer attack much earlier. At this point, the Yi family became increasingly certain that the Ming Dynasty had long harbored ambitions towards Goryeo, and that the Busan Three Guards were definitely not there to suppress Japanese pirates!

Yi Seong-gye glared at Yi Bang-won and said, "If you're going to use tricks and schemes, then you're certainly capable. But if you're really going to lead troops into battle, all you'll do is lead your own soldiers in street brawls!"

Lee Bang-won was unconvinced. In his early years, he had been in charge of the military in Jeolla Province and served as the Right Army Commander, so he had some experience in leading troops. His abilities were definitely not limited to using underhanded tactics to seize the throne or assassinating people.

Even if he wanted to refute, Li Fangyuan lacked confidence. Although his father had lost his ambition in recent years and had been under close surveillance, Li Fangyuan knew that his father still had sufficient ability to lead troops.

Otherwise, during the reign of the Wang dynasty in Goryeo, he would not have been able to decisively defeat the rebel army, be the first to scale the city walls, and command tens of thousands of troops.

Yi Seong-gye sighed and continued, "Years ago, Yin Yi and Yi Chu sneaked into the Ming Dynasty and asked the Ming Dynasty to mobilize the army to subdue them. At that time, Zhu Hongwu ignored them, but only heard that Zhu Yingshi had taken them in. Now they have returned and are colluding with Zhao Pang and others to recruit Wang's former officials."

Morally, the Li family father and son suddenly felt that they were somewhat abandoned by their own people. They thought that the loyalists of Wang's Goryeo had been wiped out, but suddenly many of them reappeared.

Even in these people's accounts, the Ming army came to punish the disloyal and unjust Li family father and son, to help the Wang family of Goryeo restore its kingdom and seek revenge. But heaven and earth bear witness, where are there any legitimate descendants of the Wang royal family now? They were all wiped out by the Li family father and son long ago.

Those foolish people have essentially let wolves into the house, and are even cheering for the Ming Dynasty. They have won over many hearts and minds, but also alienated many of the common people and scholars of the Li family, which is one of the reasons why the army's morale is currently low.

Yi Seong-gye said, “I know you are wary of me, worried that I will take command of the army again, and that I will kill you. But in the current situation, you cannot control the army, let alone lead it.”

Li Fangyuan remained silent; he was indeed very wary of his father. Confining his father was fine, but he absolutely could not be allowed to have any contact with the court again, much less with military power; otherwise, who knew what might happen next?

The restoration of the retired king is not impossible. Even though his father now looks like a frail old man, Li Fangyuan still harbors a deep-seated fear of his father's youthful ambition.

Yi Seong-gye didn't say anything more; he knew that even if he said more, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

There were indeed too many barriers between him and his five sons; they had long harbored deep suspicions about each other, making it impossible for them to be completely open with each other.

Even if he really had the chance to drive out the Ming army and regain military power, Yi Seong-gye would certainly not repeat the same mistake. He would never again imprison his five sons and allow them to run rampant.

But the first thing to do now is actually to drive out the Ming army and find a place for Li and his son to stay. Otherwise, all their grand ambitions will be in vain, or the father and son will both be sent to Yingtian Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty in shackles.

Lee Bang-won's expression was inscrutable. He could naturally see the risks involved, but it seemed that he really couldn't refuse some of Lee Seong-gye's suggestions.

Even if it's a desperate measure, he might have no choice but to accept it at this point, because if he continues to lose, he really shouldn't expect anything else. Perhaps all he'll end up with is naked, bound, and carried in a coffin.

This is no joke. Within Goryeo territory, there was a special person: Chen Li, the second son of Chen Youliang, the Han emperor who once vied for the throne with Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor). After Chen Youliang's death, Chen Li declared himself emperor. However, outside Wuchang, Chen Li surrendered and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Guide by Zhu Yuanzhang.

When Chen Li surrendered, it followed the same pattern, because in Han culture, emperors and feudal lords throughout history generally surrendered in this way, with the general ceremony being the same, and only a few variations.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!